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Emma and Zack Shay spent about $600 updating their kitchen in a 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow, replacing its blue-gray palette with sage-green cabinets, white walls and vintage-style details. The Apartment Therapy report says they kept the existing cabinets and plan to address the countertops later.
Emma and Zack Shay spent about $600 to remake the kitchen in their 100-year-old Craftsman-inspired bungalow, replacing a blue-gray scheme with sage-green cabinets, white walls and vintage-style details. Apartment Therapy reported that the couple kept their existing cabinets and used comparatively low-cost updates to give the room a warmer look they felt better suited the house.
The couple’s changes included painting the cabinets a color matched to Farrow & Ball’s Lichen and using Benjamin Moore’s Simply White on the walls and newly added beadboard. They also covered the existing gray peel-and-stick floor with a black-and-white, vintage tile-look peel-and-stick product. Wider trim and floorboards were added, and brushed-nickel bin pulls and glass knobs finished the cabinet updates.
Keeping the original cabinets helped hold down the reported cost. Emma told Apartment Therapy that two cabinet doors do not close properly, but she accepted that issue rather than spend several thousand dollars on replacements. The couple also repaired plaster as best they could before covering the area with beadboard and trim. Emma described living with the kitchen in disarray for two months as the hardest part of the project.
The makeover did not replace every surface. The countertops are tan tile that previous owners painted white; Emma said they chip easily. She plans to repaint them and make them work for a couple more years, while the couple would eventually like to replace the peel-and-stick flooring with linoleum sheet flooring. The report does not itemize the project’s expenses or identify the products’ individual prices.
A Lower-Cost Alternative to New Cabinets
The project offers a specific example of how paint, flooring and hardware can change the look of a kitchen without replacing its cabinetry. The Shays’ reported total of about $600 is tied to their particular work and materials; it is not a general estimate for other kitchens, where condition, size and labor could change the cost substantially.
For the couple, the result also addressed a mismatch between the room and the rest of the house. Emma said the gray finishes did not suit the bungalow’s original wood floors and wide trim. The update instead draws on Craftsman, vintage and cottage influences, while leaving some practical compromises in place, including misaligned cabinet doors and the fragile countertops.
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The Gray Kitchen They Inherited
Emma told Apartment Therapy that the home’s previous owners had changed the kitchen to fit a gray color trend. The room had blue-gray cabinets, gray flooring and gray walls. She and Zack wanted a warmer, more personal look that connected to the bungalow’s age and to vintage and cottage touches elsewhere in their home.
The floor was one of the first changes they made after moving in: they replaced the gray peel-and-stick material with a black-and-white design intended to resemble vintage tile. The couple also added beadboard and wider trim. Emma said they hope one day to install linoleum sheet flooring that, in her view, would better honor the home’s history. The report describes these as the homeowners’ choices and plans, not a verified restoration to the kitchen’s original appearance.
“The blue-gray cabinets, gray flooring, and gray walls were a bit uninspired and not our style.”
— Emma Shay, speaking to Apartment Therapy
peel and stick vintage tile flooring
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Costs and Countertop Plans Remain Open
The about $600 total comes from the Apartment Therapy report, but it does not provide a full budget breakdown, clarify whether every tool and supply was included, or say whether the couple did all the work themselves. The amount should not be read as a typical price for a kitchen renovation.
The timing and final scope of the planned countertop repaint and eventual flooring replacement are also unspecified. Emma said the countertops chip easily and that she intended to repaint them, but the report does not confirm that work has been completed or that the couple has selected a date or budget for new flooring.
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Countertops Are the Next Planned Task
Emma told Apartment Therapy that she still needed to repaint the painted tile countertops, with the aim of keeping them usable for another couple of years. The Shays have also said they would like to replace the peel-and-stick floor with linoleum sheet flooring at some point. No schedule or cost for either future project was reported.
For now, the kitchen remains a partial renovation rather than a full replacement: the cabinets were retained, and the existing countertops remain in place. Any further work will depend on the homeowners’ plans, which the report does not detail.
paint for kitchen cabinets sage green
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Key Questions
How much did the kitchen makeover cost?
Apartment Therapy reported that the project cost about $600. The article did not give an itemized budget, so the figure cannot be compared directly with another home’s renovation costs.
What did Emma and Zack change?
They painted the cabinets sage green and the walls and new beadboard white, installed black-and-white peel-and-stick flooring, added wider trim and floorboards, and fitted glass knobs and brushed-nickel bin pulls.
Did they replace the kitchen cabinets?
No. The couple kept the existing cabinets and painted them. Emma said two cabinets do not close properly, a compromise she accepted to avoid spending several thousand dollars on new ones.
What work is still planned?
Emma said she planned to repaint the existing tile countertops, which were painted white by previous owners and chip easily. The couple would also like to replace the peel-and-stick flooring with linoleum sheet flooring, but no timeline was reported.
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